CES 2018 announcements that made us look twice

Emma Fenton-Wells

Although the xelba team weren’t apple to attend CES in Las Vegas last week, like everyone else in the tech community, we were eagerly awaiting announcements from the show. For those who didn’t spend the entire week glued to their screens, we’ve compiled the four announcements that made us very excited:

L’Oréal’s UV Sense is a tiny sensor capable of detecting ultraviolet exposure that’s small enough to wear comfortably on your fingernail. The sensor itself is battery-free and includes an NFC antenna, a temperature sensor, and a UV sensor. That sensor which can store up to three months’ worth of data locally, and passes information to the accompanying app whenever the wearer holds the device close to their smartphone. The app keeps track of your exposure levels and can provide tips for managing sun intake.

Samsung says users can alter the size and shape of The Wall television so that it can function as a multipurpose display. In a demo on the showroom floor, the TV displayed what looked like a smaller TV in the center of the screen, while the surrounding area was set to blend in with the wall the TV was mounted on. And since the TV uses MicroLED technology, it should be able to produce even deeper black tones and potentially infinite contrast

Philips’ headband isn’t designed to help you get more sleep. Rather, it’s meant to help you get the most out of your sleep. The headband emits a tone that the company says improves slow wave sleep, the stage in the sleep cycle at which brain waves and breathing slow to their lowest levels. Citing studies, Philips says this type of sleep can help boost alertness and the ability to maintain focus. Two small sensors on the headband detect when you fall asleep and can identify when you enter deep sleep. Then, an algorithm customizes the volume and level of the tone being emitted in a way that the company claims will boost slow wave activity in the brain.

In a panel moderated by Sue Marek (Moderator), Cristiano R. Amon from Qualcomm Inc., Dr Qi Lu from Baidu and Hans Vestberg from Verizon, discussed innovations that will be enabled by a successful global roll-out of 5G networks. This included: self-driving vehicles, breakthroughs in health care, smart cities, AR/VR applications for commercial and consumer use, and content and entertainment.